Enrollment for the Healthcare Marketplace starts Nov. 1, but Ohioans may be in for another round of sticker shock.
Premiums are expected to increase again this year on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, following significant price hikes last year coupled with the expiration of federal subsidies.
“Premiums are already very high this year and we also know that insurers on the ACA Marketplace in Ohio are proposing increased premium rates going into 2027 at about, on average, a 15% increase,” said Brian O’Rourke, a senior policy analyst for the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
O’Rourke said that’s not quite as big an increase as last year, when insurance companies raised prices by about 18%.
“Looking overall last year, we saw average premiums increase about $1,300 per year in Ohio because of the insurer premium rate increases and the expiration of the enhanced subsidies,” O’Rourke said.
Ohio saw the biggest drop in the number of people enrolled in the Healthcare Marketplace in the U.S. between February 2025 and February 2026, with nearly a 33% decline in enrollment. That translates to roughly 161,000 fewer Ohioans enrolled on an ACA plan.
O’Rourke said many healthy folks dropped off the rolls because of price increases, but even those that couldn’t afford to risk going without health insurance for the year often opted for cheaper plans with higher deductibles. He said people continued to drop their coverage throughout the year, a trend he expects will continue this year.
“Even though 15% doesn't sound huge compared to what we were talking about last year, that is just another burden on these very limited financial budgets for a lot of Ohio families,” O’Rourke said.
Adding to the strain this year is that two insurance companies have dropped out of the Ohio Marketplace. CareSource and Molina will no longer be options for Marketplace enrollees in Ohio, affecting an estimated 54,000 people, or roughly 10% of the total Marketplace population. CareSource cited rising healthcare costs as the reason they decided to drop out, thought the CareSource Medicaid and MyCare Ohio plans remain unaffected.
As people drop their health insurance plans, O’Rourke said the burden is expected to increase on healthcare providers, particularly those that see a lot of uninsured and low-income patients.
“That puts pressure on the whole system,” he said.
He said people struggling to find affordable options can work with a local enrollment assister.
Marketplace enrollment is open until Jan. 15, with coverage starting Feb. 1. People who finish enrollment by Dec. 15 will have coverage starting Jan. 1.
